Badass of the Month: Ariana

Ariana's an independent business consultant working with digital health companies, foundations, and nonprofits - and a genuine badass. She specializes in driving specific operational or strategic projects for growing organizations who don't yet have the staffing to get ahead of the game. Ariana hits the ground running, and helps her clients do the same.

Though she's served clients for years, Ariana was in the process of getting her consulting business on a more formal footing and engaging new clients from beyond her personal network. She came to me needing photos for her new website, as well as social media.

The Essence of Ariana

As with most clients, we started off with an essence exercise, soliciting reflections from friends, coworkers, and clients about how Ariana shows up in service.

She's off the scale for enthusiasm and curiosity!

And though she's got hardcore business and financial skills, she's keenly tuned in to people as well. At one point Ariana told me, "I love bringing people together, getting them aligned, and driving toward a shared conclusion."

We agreed upon the following essence words for her, words that would inform her messaging and photography:

Open Enthusiasm             

Deep Curiosity

Generous Empowerment 

Heart Attunement

Forward Vision

We'd focus on the final three qualities to help differentiate her consulting business from competitors. And we'd foreground both her authority and her approachability to appeal to results-driven organizations and look for ways to inject an accent of humor, fun, and joie de vivre.

Planning

Since Ariana works with start-ups and growth-oriented organizations I chose a location at Wolf Point, the confluence of the three branches of the Chicago River that features several prestigious, newly-constructed office buildings, as well as panoramic river views and bridges. Lots of suggestive architecture to position her as a mover and shaker.

For wardrobe we agreed on a business casual look with bold accents. I wanted to show Ariana with her blazer sleeves literally rolled up, which captures her work style perfectly. She found a blue blazer with Wonder Woman cartoons printed on the lining. When she rolls her sleeves up -- BAM! Wonder Woman peeks out! Just the perfect, subtle cue that this woman is full of surprises. We topped off the look with bold yellow earrings that play with the jacket lining. 

The Photo Session

We held our photo session on a sunny Sunday morning, and Ariana came ready to play! Lots of laughter, playing with chairs we discovered and features of the environment, and even some Jon Baptiste tunes! 

The photo shoot yielded two basic sets of photos:

More intimate seated images

More power-based images of her standing with the buildings and bridge across the river

Badassity ensued.